Trust your instincts

Your common sense and instincts are a valuable tool in deciding whether to pursue a relationship with someone you meet in any walk of life. Love generally happens over time, so if someone you've never met or have recently made contact with asks you for money, they probably don't have the best intentions. Although scams are rare, it's still a good idea to be aware of how to recognise the warning signals, especially if you have decided to communicate with somebody privately outside of our site.

If someone makes a declaration of love from an early stage in the relationship, be wary. If someone seems too good to be true, they probably are.

Requests for money or financial assistance are not acceptable. You should never send money to anyone you meet online; just as you would never give money to someone you recently met in a pub or cafe.

If someone avoids giving basic details about themselves, but asks you a lot of questions about your own situation, consider their motives. Don't be afraid to ask questions so that you can build up a real picture of your potential match, and look out for any inconsistencies in the information they have shared with you. If you are suspicious, enter their name into an internet search engine, or report them to our customer care team.

If someone is genuinely interested in you, this will naturally develop into a decision to meet up with one another. If your relationship is solely via emails, text messages and phone calls and doesn't seem to ever develop into a face to face meeting, consider ceasing contact and focusing on other potential matches instead.